Merry Christmas
by Willow Brook Bishop
Summary: Forgot to upload this here, so it's a little late, but happy holidays! Tentoo is excited for his first "human" Christmas with Rose. No deadly Santa statues, rapidly rotating Christmas trees, or invading aliens. Just hot cocoa, cookies, and Christmas pajamas.


"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, falalalala lalalalaaa!"

Rose rolled over and pulled the pillow over her head. The Doctor sang louder.

"TIS the season to be jolly!"

Rose groaned.

"Doctor, it's too early for this. Come back to bed."

"It's my first human Christmas, Rose; I'm much too excited to sleep."

By now Rose was hopelessly awake, so she pushed the pillow off her head and sat up. "S'only Christmas _Eve._ "

The Doctor was already fully dressed, and it appeared that as he had been singing, he'd been hanging actual holly in their room. She brought her hand to her head. It was much too early to be dealing with an exuberant half-Time Lord.

"You said we could get a tree today," he announced, pleased to finally have gotten her eyes open.

"I don't know. We already have the big tree downstairs. And I don't remember promising that…" Rose climbed out of bed to make her way to the bathroom. "Why're you so excited, anyway?" she asked.

"Christmas, Rose! Just you and me!"

"And Jackie and—"

"No deadly mall Santas. No spinning Christmas trees. Just…peace."

Rose sighed, giving him an affectionate smile. It was so different here. And on top of that, even, this new new Doctor was a bit different, a bit… "Awful domestic of you."

"Yeah." He paused. "I'm a changed man."

Rose sighed. "Ever since Bad Wolf Bay."

"Ever since I met you."

Rose gave him a cheeky grin and spun into the bathroom, feeling giddy. She showered rather quickly and when she came out wrapped in a towel, she was surprised to find the Doctor still sitting on her bed. He had taken a long time to adjust to this new life, and really, he still was. Some days he would disappear for hours. Others he stuck to her side like a frightened child. Admittedly, this life was a little weird to her, too. Having a bed in the mansion. A job. A father.

"So….. Christmas tree?

"Doctor, it's 7:30 in the morning."

"I checked. They open at 8."

"At least let me get dressed and eat breakfast."

It could get exhausting. He needed sleep now, but still not as much as her. He had already fixed and improved every appliance in the mansion. She had come home more than once to a sentient toaster, or a smoking, smashed, recently extinguished laptop.

She changed quickly into a sweater and jeans-Pete's World was strangely colder than it had ever gotten at home. There had been snow on the ground just the other day—and ran a brush through her hair.

She turned to the door and the Doctor rushed to accompany her.

"Pete was making eggs."

Rose grinned up at the Doctor and his puppy dog eyes. "Let's go then."

He grabbed her arm as they passed under the doorway.

"Mistletoe."

She flicked her eyes upward and he was right. The sneaky—

He pulled her to him and kissed her, and that was something she'd never get tired of.

"Now let's go," he said, a shining grin plastered to his face. She laughed and pulled him off down the hallway.

Down in the kitchen, Pete was drinking a cup of tea while reading the news.

"Made Christmas Eve breakfast. It's on the stove," he called barely looking up.

"Good morning," Rose told her father. He smiled. Rose helped herself to an egg and took a seat beside the Doctor. The fact that he was staring at her so intently made her scarfle it down quickly in huge bites. The second she set the fork down on the plate, he took her by the arm.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"The dish, Doctor!" she protested weakly, laughing as he draped her coat over her shoulders and pushed her out the door.

Driving in a car with the Doctor was…interesting… to say the least. He had picked up the skill immediately, probably had always had it, but his understanding of traffic laws was a bit shaky. Right now he was speeding down a back street, in perfect control of the car, he had insisted, towards Gracelyn's Tree Farm.

"Right outside the city. You'll love it Rose! We get to chop down our own tree. The full Christmas experience!" He'd hardly stopped talking since they'd gotten into the car.

"I made cookies last night!"

"When?" she laughed.

"You were asleep."

The Doctor parked haphazardly as they pulled up at the tree lot, and Rose climbed out into the gravel. A man stood at a wooden booth with a sign declaring "Trees! Small-$40 Medium-$65 Large-$100". The Doctor took Rose by the gloved hand and walked up to the shack, prepaying for a tree, and they walked out into the field. It took forever for them to agree on the tree. The Doctor had immediately been attracted to the largest tree on the lot, but Rose had found a bald spot on the back. Rose's first pick leaned too far to the left, the Doctor's least favorite direction. They finally chose a fat medium sized tree, and the Doctor whipped his sonic out of his pocket. He toggled with the buttons for a moment while Rose stared expectantly. With the Doctor, even _traditional_ wasn't all that traditional.

They eventually got the tree down, with more help from the lot owner than the Doctor would have preferred (he came when he smelled smoke) and tied it to the roof of the car. The Doctor sang loudly to the radio the entire ride home, and when they reentered the city Rose joined in. They pulled into the driveway to greet Jackie, holding Tony's hand, and carried the tree up the steps and into their room singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". The Doctor produced a box of baubles seemingly out of nowhere, and they even let Tony hang an ornament. For the first time in years, Rose was really feeling the Christmas spirit. She was surrounded by her full family, the one she had never had before. The rest of the afternoon was almost a blur.

Rose and the Doctor decorated cookies in the kitchen, although they ended up getting more icing on themselves and each other than the gingerbread men the Doctor had made. Around 4:00 Rose retreated into their room to wrap presents and lock the door. She had gifts for her mother, Pete, and Tony, wrapped in bright red and gold, and had just started on the Doctor's when there came a knock at the door.

"RooOOse, it's me," came a voice.

"Go away!" she called back, laughing. "I'm wrapping something for you."

"For me?" he sounded truly surprised. "Okay." Footsteps retreated down the hall.

Rose had spent weeks agonizing over what to get him. What do you get the man who's seen everything, could get anything for himself? She'd made him a scrapbook of all of their adventures, and framed a photo for him. It was a cheesy move, and she was a little nervous, but it was the only thing she could think of. She hoped the Doctor would be in a sentimental mood. When she exited the room with her arms piled high with gifts, she found him sitting on the couch, staring at the big tree. She scattered the presents beneath it and took a seat next to him.

"It's not trying to kill us," she teased.

They gathered around the Christmas tree after a homemade dinner to open the customary Christmas Eve present. It was always pajamas, a Tyler family tradition, but Rose shook the shiny silver box anyway.

"Sounds like a monkey," joked Pete. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Open 'em, all of you!" Jackie proclaimed finally, clapping her hands together. Rose pulled back glittery paper and the lid of a department store box to reveal a silky long red nightgown.

"I thought it was so classy when I saw it," Jackie told her. "Just perfect for you."

 _Classy_ was apparently not the theme, because when the Doctor pulled his pajamas out of the gift bag he let out a groan.

(He had originally been touched that Jackie had thought of him.

"Well, you're part of the family now," she had insisted, waving him off like it was no big deal. )

When she turned to look, Rose stifled a laugh. The Doctor had received a fuzzy Santa suit footed onesie, complete with a buttonable butt flap. But after a moment, the Doctor started laughing and jumped to his feet.

"Fantastic!" he cried, a bit of his old old self shining through. He raced over to give a very surprised Jackie a big hug, then went to change. Rose was left seated on the floor grinning. Pete shook his head, hiding a smile, and pulled out his own green plaid pajamas. Jackie rose to change Tony into his Christmas pjs.

Rose met the Doctor coming down the stairs. He looked admittedly attractive, if a bit goofy in his pajamas. Rose had no idea where he went off to after that, but was herself soon curled up in bed with a cup of cocoa.

Their tree really was gorgeous. She'd had a perfect Christmas Eve with the Doctor. Still, looking back, their past Christmases hadn't been all that bad. Taking out the terror and danger and uncertainty (which was quite a large stretch, but she was feeling sentimental), they were just adventures with the Doctor. They had kept up that tradition today.

"Knock knock," came a soft voice. Rose shifted in bed.

"Come in, Doctor." He looked rather sheepish standing in the doorway. Rose _loved_ him so much. "C'mere." He crawled across the bed and she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You happy with your fully human Christmas Eve?"

"It was perfect, Rose." She shook her head, feeling so lucky to be where she was.

"The tree was a great idea by the way. And the cookies."

"I'm just full of great ideas, aren't I?"

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, his arm around her.

"I love you, you know," he told her.

"Love you too. So much."

"You know, this is never the life I thought I wanted. Big family. House, car, Christmas tree. Watching little brothers taking first steps, waking up to eggs and toast. But it's the life I got. And you know what? I couldn't be happier."

It wasn't unlike anything he'd ever said before, but it still touched her deep down. Of all the things in all the universes, he had chosen to be with her.

"Rose Tyler, how long are you going to stay with me?"

"Forever," she replied, grinning, feeling oh so warm in the arms of the man she loved. He kissed her forehead.

"That's what I thought."

She leaned back in bed, staring at the ceiling with a full grin. The Doctor sat up. He began slowly.

"Rose Tyler. " Pause. Then. "Would you marry me?" He voiced it so casually that she had to do a double take.

"W-would I?"

He took a breath.

"Will you?" She couldn't speak for a moment. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Rose Tyler."

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah! Yes!" She dove in to hug him, and they fell against the bed, laughing. Her eyes glittered with happy tears.

"Merry Christmas, Rose Tyler."

"I love you."


End file.
